Sunday, July 07, 2013

Sunday's "Living With Your Pet" Tips: A Mutt By Any Other Name...

This article titled "In Defense of the Word Mutt", posted just recently on Dog Fancy's website, dogchannel.com, is what we'd call a real conversation starter-just maybe not at a fancy cocktail party. Although this article doesn't discuss standard pet care tips, it might give humans some food for thought when it comes to evaluating "what's in a name". A lot, we think.

The title of the article might be misleading because it suggests (at least to us), that the term "mutt" might best be left in the dustbin of history, in favor of a more flattering word-one that will make humans think they've gotten a real prize when they adopt a mixed breed from their local shelter, for example.

We all know that the language we use when referring to both humans and animals is mighty important, and often shows how we (really) feel about them. (Take heed Paula Deen!)

As this piece points out, 75% of dogs that end up in shelters are "mutts", and just maybe, what we call them may have something to do with how we value them....and why they're three times more likely to end up in shelters than "purebreds".

Mike Arms, the president of Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego, and one of our heroes in the animal welfare world, is adamant that how we describe and price (no "sales on seniors"), these "beautiful orphaned animals", help shape how we value them, and in turn, might encourage adoption of shelter pets. By the way, the Helen Woodward Animal Center does not use the word "mutt" or "mixed breed", but prefers "blend" to describe their pups of undetermined breed.

So what do you think? Will a change of words help us to place a higher value on mixed breed dogs? It's interesting, too, that we don't use the words "mongrel" or "cur" anymore...